Baby sleep - help!!

[Hann376]

8 week old still won’t sleep unless held or rocked - does it get easier?? Do they grow out of needing motion and human Contact to sleep?

i feel too overwhelmed to keep trying to put her down in a non moving crib to see if it will finallY work as it’s so hard to get her to fall and stay asleep as it is I don’t want to ruin it if there is a possibility of her having a good stint of sleep on m me. Is there a natural stage in development where it’s likely to work??

also she frequently wakes up after 30 mins or so but doesn’t seem hungry . lm so worried shes not getting the sleep she needs and will have really bad long term effect on her as she’s frequently awake longer than 90 mins and having such short naps!!

I feel like it would help if she would take a dummy As would give comfort to help her fall asleep but she won’t take one

Are you breastfeeding? Have you tried cosleeping? That’s the only way I get any sleep! Mine is 12 weeks and also won’t take a dummy. I tried a few and have just given up!

i know it’s tough. You’re not alone xx

Thanks hope you’re doing ok! Not tried co sleeping as I feel like it’s the warmth she likes and movement so not sure whether she’d sleep any better lying next to me on the bed rather than in her cot.

yeah she’s breastfed! It makes me want to give up as I feel like she might be less hungry and sleep better with formula??

Yes it does get better! However you decide to tackle it or wether you decide to do nothing at all it will get better

@Hann376 mine is really similar. I normally bf to sleep on the rocking chair and they fall asleep latched on. Then I transfer us both into the bed with them still latched on. So we’ll be lying on the bed both on our side facing eachother. He might stay latched on or after a few minutes let go. Either way I don’t mind I get to lie down and get some sleep or go on my phone

It does get better, 12 weeks was really hard though, we went through a really rough patch the . I didn’t want to co-sleep as I had friends who struggled to get the baby out of the bed as a toddler/older child and one friend still has her 10 year old fall asleep in her bed and carry him through to his room once he’s asleep which I didn’t want. We also only have a standard double so there wasn’t really space for all of us and whilst I turfed DH out when the baby was little I didn’t want it to be long term.
What I did was put the Moses basket on the bed next to me, and we co-slept but with him in the basket, when I’d fed him I put him in it with my hand on his tummy. I started during the day putting him in the Moses basket on the sofa and then at night, he would sometimes wake up and cry a little bit and I’d pick him up and cuddle/ rock/ shush him until he went back to sleep and pop him back. It took a few days but he started sleeping in the basket and then I put the basket in the cot when he was bigger and he transitioned pretty well. He only needed my hand on him for a few weeks and it’s not too hard to sleep on your side with your arm in the basket.

also don’t worry about any long term effects of the short naps! There will be nothing of the sort! Just perhaps keep an eye on awake windows and when she’s been awake for 60-90 minutes try to encourage a nap. Remember these are guidelines and babies aren’t robots but a lot of babies do need help falling asleep as there’s a fine line between tired and over tired. I read somewhere that when the get over tired they start producing excess cortisol which makes it even harder for them to fall asleep. Equally, don’t drive yourself mad stressing over naps because it will tsk over your life. try and encourage a nap. If it’s not working after 10 mins, try again in 20 mins or so

Hello lovely sending so much love,

my dd is 15 weeks, she also only gets to sleep being cuddled and rocked. I have accepted every day time nap is a contact nap and instead of being pressured to do chores i just sit & soak it in! Ive bought a rocking chair which i keep in-front of the telly and just enjoy slow days doing nothing while shes sleeping on me! Luckily she goes down in her crib at night time

hoping you find something that works for you!